Man Utd legend Keane left speechless by damning Ten Hag stat

Erik ten Hag’s form against the top sides caught Manchester United legend Roy Keane by surprise, with his winless run against the top nine teams in the Premier League described as ‘ugly’.

United suffered a 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle at the weekend, leaving them in seventh position in the table with their sixth defeat of the Premier League season in 14 games.

The loss meant Ten Hag has gained just one point in 11 away games against the top nine teams in the Premier League since his appointment last summer.

The stat led to disbelief from Keane on Sky Sports amid pressure on Ten Hag, with United having conceded 34 goals in those 11 games, scoring just nine times.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Keane said: “That doesn’t look real. Is that real? It looks ugly. That looks ugly and it’s the amount of goals. We were discussing earlier, six at City, seven at Liverpool, four at Brentford.”

United travel to Liverpool in the coming weeks in the next matchup between Ten Hag and a top team as they look to bounce back from a dismal performance and end the ‘ugly’ form in away games.

Keane: United players won’t change

Keane elaborated on his thoughts, insisting that United’s constant relying on the same players was ‘a sign of insanity’ after they had previously let down managers at the club.

He said: “It’s not good, they’re obviously in a tough place, the manager’s under pressure. There were players playing last night and you thought they would have been leaving the club maybe in the summer.

“You’re still going back to the same players who have been getting Man United nowhere fast over the last one or two years.

“What’s the sign of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. This group’s not going to change. If they’re not going to work as hard as the opposition then you’re in trouble, and they don’t.”